Fashion Color Palette for Fall 2016

You can now purchase an Adobe .ASE file from my shop at Creative Market. The palette contains all 10 colors in Pantone PMS Coated Colors, Pantone TCX [Textile Cotton] Colors, CMYK Formulas and RGB Formulas. The package also contains a visual chart of each color and it’s call out number or formula. A great tool for designing your fall materials.

2016 Pantone Colors

Pantone has chosen these 2 pastel colors for the 2016 colors of the year. Here’s the breakdown of the PMS color to RGB and CMYK formats.

To download the Adobe Creative Suite ASE file visit SZ Studio Design Free Tools.

What’s your colorscope? 

My favorite color is peacock, but I just painted my studio somewhere between plum and beet. What does that say about me? I’m not sure, I think I’m patient and serious, inflexible? Well I’ve been called tenacious on multiple occasions, compassionate and loyal, — I think so. Inspirational — maybe sometimes, sympathetic and empathetic, yes — of course I’d like to think I’m charming, but I know I’m not always charming, who is? “When in a bad mood you may have the tendency to see only the negative” duh, isn’t that what a bad mood is all about. What about Aubergine? What a beautiful color — and who wouldn’t want to be highly creative and intuitive!

Yes, I guess I’m most of those things, at least some of the time, how about you?

For more information go to Paper Source.

1. Purchase or salvage a quality piece of furniture. This is a solid wood piece of furniture, very well made with dove tailed drawers and all of it’s original hardware and it’s parts. The drawers and the front had not damage, but the top had some water damage causing the grain of the wood to be raised.I

I removed all of the hardware a soaked it in a warm soapy solution of about 1 gallon of water and 1/4 cup of Spic n Span cleaner. I then washed down the whole piece with a rag soaked in the same solution.

2. I bought a quart of Sherwin Williams paint at Lowe’s in Splendor Blue, it is an interior flat paint. I used the Lowe’s recipe for homemade chalk paint.

I then sanded the top of the dresser to smooth out the grain. You really don’t need to sand before using chalk paint, but I wanted to make the top really smooth. It took 2 coats of paint to get good coverage to my satisfaction. I didn’t want any of the brown stain to show from the original paint job.

3. Once that dried completely, (about 4 hours), I glazed it with a Valspar Water Based Glaze, the color is Bonbon. I brushed on the glaze and let it set for about a minute before I started to wipe it off. I don’t like to let it dry on the paint. I would say it’s sort of semi dry. I work in small areas. You can wipe off as much or as little as you like. I like to leave the corners and crevices dark. That’s what gives the piece definition.

4. Gold accents were created with Antique Gold Rub N’Buff. I put it a small amount on my finger and rub it onto the high points. For more details see my Bronze It post.

4. Finally I let that dry at least overnight. I then brushed an oil based varnish on top of it. I like to use Cabot’s. It does have a slight yellow tint to it, but I like the warmth the yellow brings to the piece. I painted 2 coats of varnish on the whole thing, except for the top. Remember I wanted it to be smooth, so I sanded it a couple of times between about 4 coats of varnish.

I’m really happy with the results. Let me know what you think.

The Psychology of Color

This is getting a lot of pins on Pinterest, so I thought I’d re-post it.

Yes, you can now buy paint in Pantone Colors from Lowe’s. I love this! There are several shades to choose from and you can buy samples of 10 oz. jars in each color. The Radiant Orchid above is the 2014 Pantone Color of the year. I’m thinking of painting my studio this Peacock Blue color. You can also purchase the fan book of all the available Pantone Colors. It’s great to be able to cross reference your color skills from printing ink on paper to paint on your walls.